Thai (Sweet) Snacks – Khanom Wan

Michael Babcock, October 25th, 2009

One of the joys of Thailand is the wide variety of snacks, or, in Thai, khanom, available in all the markets. A recent blog entry by Kasma that included a recipe for a very tasty Thai pudding, Tapioca Black Bean Pudding, got me thinking about Thai khanom. In the title above I’ve used khanom wan, wan being the word for “sweet,” since I’ll focus on sweet snacks here and there are savory snacks as well). (Picture is from Kasma’s class.)

Tapioca Black Bean Pudding

Kasma tells me that Thai people traditionally didn’t eat sweets for desserts; if they had a dessert at all, it was fruit of some variety. Something sweet might be eaten an hour or so after eating or it might be eaten at any time during the day. This is not so different from how the Thai people treat food in general; for instance, they don’t really have any specific breakfast foods. Breakfast is considered just another meal and anything that is eaten at any other time of the day will also be eaten for breakfast.

(Click on an image to see a larger version.)

Sticky rice treats in jackfruit

Thai markets are full of khanom – I’m actually fairly amazed by the variety of Thai desserts and snacks. On our market walks we’re always seeing something that I swear I’ve never seen before. They are part of what I think of as a “grazing culture” – a Thai will eat any time of the day or night. Sometimes these new snacks don’t last – the sticky rice treats in jack fruit pictured here appeared one year at Aw Taw Kaw (Or Tor Kor) Market in Bangkok but the next year they were not there. Too bad, they were tasty!

The Tapoica Black Bean Pudding is representative of Thai sweets in many ways. One, it includes a salty component. Two, it is coconut based. Three, it contains ingredients that are healthy for you (black beans, coconut milk).

Making Grilled Coconut Hotcakes

Thai sweets and snacks are seldom just sweet and, as a rule, are less sweet than American Desserts. They often have a salty component to play off the sweet taste. Kasma was very amused a few years back when the New York Times ran an article about the “new” way of making desserts that included a salty component. She wrote a letter and pointed out that in Thailand and all over Asia they’ve combined sweet and salty for hundreds of years.

The quick story is that coconut oil does not clog your arteries or contribute to heart disease and it is full of healthy fats, such as Lauric Acid and Caprylic Acid, which have a beneficial effect in the body by helping you fight off bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungus. It is what is called a “functional food,” defined thus: “a functional food provides a health benefit over and beyond the basic nutrients.” (See Coconut: In Support of Good Health in the 21st Century by Mary Enig).

Ruam Mitr without the ice

One of my very favorite Thai snacks is a coconut-milk based snack called ruam mitr. Kasma, in her classes, calls it “Iced Sweet Coconut Soup with a Mix of Various Tidbits.” It’s basically a sweet coconut soup to which up to a dozen or so various tidbits such as jackfruit, green noodles, young coconut meat, water chestnut and corn have been added. The picture above, before the ice is added, gives an idea of the variety of ingredients. It is topped with shaved ice and on a warm day is a delightful combination of coolness, taste and textures. It is very cooling and refreshing. (Picture is from Kasma’s class.)

Asian Pumpkin in Coconut Cream

There are numerous examples of khanom that contain something served in a “coconut soup,” such as Taro Cubes in Coconut Milk, Asian Pumpkin Simmered in Pandan-Leaf-Scented Sweet Coconut Cream Sauce (Gkaeng Buad Fak Tong) (picture from Kasma’s class), and the “Ordained Bananas” – Bananas Simmered in Jasmine-Scented Coconut Milk (Gkluey Buad Chi). (So-called, because nuns, in Thailand, wear white: the bananas have been “ordained” in the white coconut milk.)

Coconut milk is also used in other desserts, such as Khanom Tuay – Steamed Coconut-Rice Cakes in Small Dishes and Sticky Rice and Corn Pudding (Kao Niow Bpiak Kao Pohd). And of course the khanom krok mentioned above.

Steamed Banana Cakes

Bananas are another common and well-loved ingredient. Of course, in Thailand there are many different varieties of bananas, all of which make the kind we find in United States supermarkets taste very bland indeed. In addition to Ordained Bananas, here are just a few banana-based desserts taken from Kasma’s class menus:

Another type of sweet you may encounter has a bright orange appearance, the color coming from egg yolks. One example of this is Khanom Buang Thai, a Thai crepe whose filling includes meringue and sweetened egg yolks. These particuler snacks can be traced to the influence of Marie Guimar, the half-Japanese, half-Portuguese wife of a Greek minister (Constantine Phaulkon) to the Siamese royal court in the 17th century. Marie worked her way to the position of head of the royal kitchen and introduced the use of eggs in making desserts and other sweets.

Bakery cakes in Nakhon Panom

One trend that I’ve noticed over the years is an increase in western-style desserts in Thailand. It is fairly common to see bakeries that have decorated cakes and there’s one restaurant chain, S & P, that is famous for their cakes. In markets and malls you’ll find cookies, cakes and donuts.

And there are the exceptions to Thai snacks being less sweet than western desserts. On one memorable evening, a Thai friend took us to a trendy khanom shop that served nothing but extremely sweet, multi-colored syrups on white, puffy bread. I suppose the western-style bread makes this a fusion dessert. The place was absolutely packed.

Cassava cakes from Mithapheap Market

In the United States, I’ve not seen much of a variety of Thai snacks at Thai restaurants: you’re lucky if they have sticky rice or fried bananas. Where I’ve seen a greater variety of snacks, somewhat more representative of what you find in Thailand, are at some of the Asian markets we frequent, such as Mithapheap market on International Boulevard an 14th Street in Oakland. You’ll find the snacks by the check-out counters. If you’re not in the Bay Area, make a trip to some of the Southeast Asian markets in your area. (See Shopping at Asian Markets (for Thai Ingredients).

If you want to eat Thai khanom your best bet is to travel to Thailand and be adventurous in the markets. If you want to learn to make khanom you can do so in Kasma’s classes.
Written by Michael Babcock, October 2009.

14 Responses to “Thai (Sweet) Snacks – Khanom Wan”

[…] Traditional Thai snacks are basically very healthy foods. Although they can be quite sweet, many of them are less sweet or are savory and they nearly universally include an ingredient that is quite healthy. For instance, Kanom Krok (Grilled Coconut Hotcakes) include coconut milk (a “functional” food that includes immune-system boosting Lauric Acid); Sangkaya (Coconut Egg Custard) includes both coconut milk & duck eggs; and Kao Niow Dtam (Black Sticky Rice Pudding) includes healthy, whole-grain black rice. Certainly Thai snacks with all empty calories exist but most of them include healthy ingredients such as coconut milk, pumpkin (or squash) or cassava root. (See my blogi on Thai (Sweet) Snacks – Kanom Wan […]

[…] I feel somewhat badly that I’ve failed to include a dessert onto my Top Ten list. I want to give this kanom an honorable mention because it illustrates much of what is good about Thai kanom and, indeed, about Thai cooking. (See Michael’s blog Thai Sweet Snacks – Kanom Wan.) […]

[…] As I’ve observed before, there has been a proliferation of western carbohydrates in Thailand over the 21 years I’ve been coming here. (See my blog, in a new window, Western Carbs in Thailand.) Although Thai kanom (snacks) are relatively healthy (they nearly all contain a healthy ingredient such as coconut milk, squash, taro, etc.), some kanom wahn (sweet kanom) can be very sweet – some Thais do have a sweet tooth. (Also see my blog, in a new window, Thai Sweet Snacks.) […]

[…] Traditional Thai snacks are basically very healthy foods. Although they can be quite sweet, many of them are less sweet or are savory and they nearly universally include an ingredient that is quite healthy. For instance, Kanom Krok (Grilled Coconut Hotcakes) include coconut milk (a “functional” food that includes immune-system boosting Lauric Acid); Sangkaya (Coconut Egg Custard) includes both coconut milk & duck eggs; and Kao Niow Dtam (Black Sticky Rice Pudding) includes healthy, whole-grain black rice. Certainly Thai snacks with all empty calories exist but most of them include healthy ingredients such as coconut milk, pumpkin (or squash) or cassava root. (See my blogi on Thai (Sweet) Snacks – Kanom Wan […]

That’s good to know. I must have gotten unlucky the last time I went — it was the same time of the year as the previous year when I saw them. I hope I get lucky in January when I’m there. SOOOOOO tasty!

[…] of sweets (kanom wahn) available at Don Wai, as at all Thai markets. (See Michael’s blog on Thai sweet snacks.) They range from Thai coconut treats to Chinese sweets such as these. Written by Michael Babcock, […]

[…] our website for more Thai recipes and more Thai ingredients. You might also enjoy our post on Thai (Sweet) Snacks – Kanom Wahn. This recipe is also available on our website as Sweet Soup of Kabocha in Coconut […]